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CHICAGO – The late playwright August Wilson left a gift to the world in the form of his “American Century Cycle,” a series of plays each individually set in a decade of the 20th Century, focusing on the black experience. Chicago’s Goodman Theatre presents Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” now through May 19th, 2024 (click here).
The 10 Most Anticipated Movies of Early 2009
Submitted by BrianTT on January 6, 2009 - 7:58pm
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Sydney Fife (Jason Segel, center left) bonds with Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd, center right) who has befriended him in his search for a best man for his upcoming wedding to Zooey (Rashida Jones, lower right) in the comedy.
Photo credit: Scott Garfield
D.C. reporter Cal McCaffrey (RUSSELL CROWE) questions U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (BEN AFFLECK) in a blistering political thriller about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist embroiled in a case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders.
Photo credit: Copyright: © 2008 Universal Studios.
Watchmen opens on March 6th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers
Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version
Sydney Fife (Jason Segel, center left) bonds with Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd, center right) who has befriended him in his search for a best man for his upcoming wedding to Zooey (Rashida Jones, lower right) in the comedy.
Photo credit: Scott Garfield
3. “I Love You, Man”
Release Date: March 20th
Cast: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Jon Favreau, Andy Samberg, Jaime Pressly, and Carla Gallo
Writer/Director: John Hamburg
Plot: Paul Rudd plays a guy with a problem - he’s getting married and he doesn’t have any friends. Who’s going to be his best man? He decides to throw a contest to find just the right guy but he becomes too close to his new B.F.F., threatening to break apart the relationship with his fiancée. How can a guy maintain a new best friend and a new wife?
Reason To Get Excited: This one has two reasons - Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. There’s something about the combination of Rudd’s sarcastic, smooth brand of humor and Segel’s typically gawky, awkward comic sensibility that sounds like a perfect fit. And the concept is comic gold. This easily has the most potential to be the “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” of early 2009 and it’s not just because it has the same star. We swear it’s not, man.
D.C. reporter Cal McCaffrey (RUSSELL CROWE) questions U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (BEN AFFLECK) in a blistering political thriller about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist embroiled in a case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders.
Photo credit: Copyright: © 2008 Universal Studios.
2. “State of Play”
Release Date: April 17th
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman, Robin Wright Penn, Helen Mirren, Viola Davis, and Jeff Daniels
Writers: Matthew Michael Carnahan and Tony Gilroy
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Plot: A reporter tries to unravel the complex story behind the death of a Congressman. There’s a LOT more to it than that, but, trust us, you don’t want to be spoiled.
Reason To Get Excited: Watch the BBC original mini-series on which this is based, which just happens to be one of the best things to air on television in the history of the medium. The original “State of Play” - with stellar performances by James MacAvoy, David Morrissey, Bill Nighy, and Kelly MacDonald - is an amazing dissection of the intersecting paths of journalism and politics and is SO full of potential for movie greatness. Now, it was undeniably more interesting when Brad Pitt and Edward Norton were doing it pre-strike, but Crowe and Affleck are certainly interesting actors and that supporting cast is remarkable. With script work by Gilroy and direction from the man who directed Forest Whitaker to his Oscar performance in “The Last King of Scotland,” “State of Play” could be one of the few films from the first third of 2009 with true Oscar season potential.
Watchmen opens on March 6th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers
1. “Watchmen”
Release Date: March 6th
Cast: Carla Gugino, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, and Matthew Goode
Writers: David Hayter and Alex Tse
Director: Zack Snyder
Plot: Do you live under a rock? Go read the book.
Reason To Get Excited: Call us cock-eyed optimists, but we think the Fox/WB legal battle is going to allow for our most anticipated flick of 2009 (forget the first half, we’re talking the whole thing) to still come out. The beloved graphic novel that most fans never thought would make it to the big screen is finally on the horizon even if the powers-that-be clearly have something against Alan Moore. Ignoring all the behind-the-scenes battles, “Watchmen” looks amazing, as if all the time between the publishing of one of the most important works of fiction of the last quarter-century and 2009 was what it took to accurately bring this project to life. No one was more pessimistic about seeing a faithful adaptation of “Watchmen” than we were… until we saw that preview. It’s hilarious that the internet backlash has begun before the movie has even come out with some lamenting casting decisions and constant posts of “it doesn’t look THAT good.” Yes, haters, it does look THAT good. Now, let’s just hope we don’t have to include it in our Summer Preview too.
 | By BRIAN TALLERICO |
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10 most anticipated films of 2009
I for one am eagerly waiting for July 1st, the day Public Enemies is out with Depp & Bale. Think it should also have made the list.
This list targeted films in early 2009
We’re certainly looking forward to “Public Enemies,” but our writer wrote the following as for his methodology for this list:
CRANK 2!!!!????? I will be
CRANK 2!!!!????? I will be there. Really??!! CRANK is one of my favorite all timers. Same guy? Very cool.
Defiance, Gran Torino & Taken
Defiance should be #1 on that list. Gran Torino is going to be awesome as well as Taken.
Where the heck is
Where the heck is Shanghai???? It has awesome cast..
“Shanghai” needs to be
“Shanghai” needs to be on your list. Cuscak, Gong Li, Ken wantanbe, Chow Yun fat etc
The Intrenational sounds cool.
Ever heard of “The
Ever heard of “The Road?” You know, that little movie staring two of the finest working actors today that’s based on a book that won the Pulitzer prize? I don’t know, but I think that that MIGHT end up pretty good…
But I will be absolutely amazed if Watchmen ends up working. The story is simply too complex to fit into a movie and have the same kind of impact. The fact that Snyder seems to be in 300-mode complete with slow-motion and ridiculous posses every five seconds, isn’t helping matters much. A better, more experimental director with a willingness to really put his own stamp on the material would have been a better choice IMO.
The Road Release Date
“…we’ve tried to target the ten films from January to April 2009 that we might conceivably still be talking about twelve months from now.”
The Road still doesn’t have a release date but rumors are putting it in the final quarter of 2009, maybe even as late as November. It certainly wasn’t eligible.